Shadows of Regret
by LightningFarron5
Summary: In a time of peace and wellness, Equestria is suddenly struck with pain and woe. An old enemy, Sombra, thought to have been defeated, has returned. Death follows him wherever he goes, and chaos. When Twilight's mother is the first to take his blow, Twilight finds herself fighting to save Equestria once more. Twilight finds Luna may the information she needs. With it comes danger.
1. Prologue

In the night where shadows lurk, eyes shone in the darkness. They glowed with power and greed, and blinked at the brightness of the lamp posts. Hooves clicked against the pavement and he drew back into the alleyway. Two guards strode by, peering around as they passed. They weren't really focused, they were too busy talking, but they gave effort.

When they were gone, he walked out and followed their path. Their shift would soon be over, forever. A knife was now in his mouth, gleaming with forbidden magic. He walked silently, close behind them. Splitting off to their respective homes, they were giving their farewells. He flung the knife through the air, sticking itself inside of the guard's neck. The guard slumped to the ground, and the other guard grew defensive. His horn glowed with purple light, and when he saw the attacker he gasped. He turned and ran, being closely followed by the mysterious murderer.

The assassin pursued, cursing himself for not having a better disguise. The guard, Shiny what's his name, ran into a house, presumably his. He was followed by a shadow of a presence, one whose very name instilled fear in the ponies. A mare greeted him only to be interrupted.

"Mother, we're in serious danger. King Sombra is in Camelot."

"But you all defeated him in the Crystal Empire, how could he be here when he's dead?" The mother asked.

"I don't know, but it was unmistakably him."

"Are you certain? We cannot risk a false alarm to the princess."

"Positive. Please, we must hurry. I don't want you getting hurt, mother."

"Upstairs, now. Your father is away in Trottingham on a business call."

"You must come too. Please, he is very powerful."

"But I must hold him off so you can escape. You are the prince of the Crystal Empire, and you must get out alive."

"Mother-"

"Go!"

Shining ran, icy cold fear making his muscles tense. Velvet Sparkle stood framed in the doorway, refusing to let her fear move her. She could hear hooves on the outside pavement, clicking sharply, as though he wanted her to hear him. As if he wanted her to sense his presence approaching. Then the shadow moved through the door, sliding silently across the floor behind her.

He struck her from behind, and as she spun to face him, he cast a spell. The last thing she heard was the sound of her son shouting and the crackling of ice.

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**Tell me what you think, and if I should continue this story. I'm aware that this was short, but I wrote it to be with only small revelations to keep the feeling of suspense. I'm also aware that it says that Sombra is in Camelot, and I found it too amusing to take out.**


	2. Heartache

** Future chapters won't be posted as quickly as this one was, I just happened to have inspiration.**

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Twilight lowered the letter to the floor, releasing her magical hold on it. Tears spilled unto the parchment, wrinkling it and making some of the writing illegible. She had just reread the letter informing her of her mother's serious, possibly fatal, condition and that her brother had been reported missing after one of his fellow comrades was found murdered by forsaken magic. The magic of which would have allowed the dead pony to be reanimated for malicious reasons is Celestia had not removed said magic.

Her father was away in Trottingham, preventing a war with the griffins, while here she sat doing nothing. She instead remained here, a useless princess, that is, until now. Celestia had called her to Cantorlot to investigate the recent events, and to take care of her mother. Velvet had been found icy cold in the morning, her face frozen in an expression of pure terror. It was unknown if she'd be able to be cured without serious consequences. It was probable that, should she be freed, she would have loss of memory and stiffness of her limbs.

So Twilight was going to go off, she was packing now, face contorted in sorrow. Spike did not know of what had happened, she didn't want him to worry when she left. Instead he was left in the care of Rarity, and she told him she had some 'princessly duties' to attend to. He had been skeptical at first, after all he usually went everywhere with Twilight, but when he learned of who he'd be staying with he was gone. The girls knew of what had happened, unlike Spike, and they felt for her.

They could see the pain in her eyes, feel the agony welling beneath her lavender coat. She hadn't been like this before her princesshood. No, before she had been happy, free. Now she was brought down by the death she could sense in Equestria, the sorrow of those who lost their family members and their friends to it. She was not the same as she once was, and she never would be again. They saw it, and they knew there was nothing they could do about it.

Around the same time of the attack on her family, Pinkie Pie realized she had a new Pinkie sense. She calls it the BFMA twitch, which stands for Big Fat Meanie Around. Due to this and recent events, Twilight knew she couldn't leave Ponyville unprotected. The girls were given jobs to fulfill while Twi was gone, to protect the town. She knew Spike would notice something was up, but by then there would be nothing he could do about it.

While Rarity was taking care of Spike, she was also providing clothing and shelter to those in need, to keep everyone indoors. Applejack was to lead patrols around the perimeter of Ponyville and to alert the mayor of suspicious activity. Rainbow Dash would be leading sky watches as well as keeping the weather nice. Pinkie Pie, while keeping track of her twitches, was delivering food and water to the ponies, and keeping them entertained. Fluttershy was taking care of all the animals and plants, while looking for signs of danger.

All unicorns were to hold up a forcefield around the town, preventing unauthorized ponies from entering. The earth ponies built fortifications about the town, while patrolling with AJ. The pegasi were on sky watch duty and were to go about as messengers. The young, old, and ill were to stay within the downtown area, and to not let strangers in.

Contented by the way she had everything under control, Twilight was prepared to leave. She carried her bags out to the train, giving a tearful farewell to her friends.

"C'mon, it's only for a little while." Spike misunderstood her cries and tried to comfort her.

"Sugarcube, we don't know how long she'll be." AJ interjected.

"It'll be alright." Rarity spoke. "Shouldn't take too long."

"But we don't know for sure, it could take years to-" AJ was cut off.

"Not too long." Rarity snapped.

"It could take a million billion years!" Pinkie halfheartedly giggled.

"But-"

"Enough!" Twilight vociferated. "I have to leave now."

With that, she boarded the train, and the door shut behind her. The girls looked on in silence as Twilight was seen lifting her bags to put them away. Twilight looked at the others aboard and was shocked to see the train was empty. Usually it was bustling with activity and full of life. She got an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach as she sat down, worry nibbling away at her conscious. She suddenly wished she had Pinkie's keen senses so she could know if she was safe. _What if this was set up to capture me_?

Thoughts like this spun through her head, causing her to sit up, now fully alert. Her gaze traveled across the room, searching for a means of escape if need be. The windows looked like they'd be breakable, and her spot near the back of the train would allow her to jump out the back and fly away. She jumped at every sound, and finally drew herself up against the back wall in a fighting stance.

A rustle was heard nearby, followed by a scratching on the back door of the train. She cautiously went to it, hooves trembling. She turned the knob with her magic and pulled the door open quickly, letting it swing the rest of the way. She leapt back as a small white bunny hopped to her. She laughed in relief when she realized it was only Angel.

"What are you doing here, you silly little bunny? You're awfully far from home." Twi asked.

When he chittered in response she spoke." I suppose I should write to Fluttershy that you're here, and that you're safe. How did you get all the way here? You are one strange rabbit."

She plucked a quill and parchment from her bag and dipped the quill into a jar of ink. The tip scratched away at the paper as she wrote.

_Dear Fluttershy,_

_ Your pet bunny Angel was found aboard the train I am taking to Cantorlot. He is well, and will remain in my care until I can get him sent back to you. I will send you and the girls updates of my time in Cantorlot, and miss you all already._

_ Your friend,_

_ Twilight Sparkle_

She held the letter up to the light and wove a spell to send the letter to Ponyville. Her horn flashed for a minute before the paper was engulfed in flames and sent away. Checking the time, she saw she still had a few hours to kill while the train stopped at other stations. Sitting down in her seat, she leaned back and drew a picture from her pack. It was one of her family, Cadence included, at a picnic in Manehattan. She smiled at the memory and drifted off to sleep.

_ Twilight stood up and stretched, belly full. Shining Armor and Princess Cadence laughed about something as Night Light gave his camera to his foalhood friend, Photo Finish. She had the family sit close together on the picnic blanket and told them to smile. Twilight grinned at the shiny black lens and struggled to refrain from blinking._

_But suddenly things went wrong. Her father and brother disappeared, leaving no evidence behind that they had ever been there. Princess Cadence laughed and revealed herself as Queen Chrysalis of the changelings. Her mother turned to ice, and Photo Finish was suddenly trying to kill her._

_Her screams were ignored by the approaching pony, and her feet were frozen to the ground by the queen's magic, disabling her. Her horn was useless as Photo Finish changed into Discord, who crept towards her like a cat stalking prey. The queen laughed as she obliterated the sculpture that was Velvet Sparkle and watched as Twilight shrieked until her throat grew raw._

_Discord had a knife in his paw, and he made precise wounds on Twilight's coat and horn._

_"They're all gone, Twilight. No-one is here for you now."_

Twilight awoke with a gasp, flailing her hooves outwards. She saw that there was no-one around, and was both relieved and frightened. Angel sat upon her lap and stomped as she moved too much. She pondered over her strange dream as she picked her picture up from where it had fallen on the floor, disappointed to see the glass had shattered.

As she cleaned up the glass, she heard a discreet knock at the back door. And they were nowhere near the next train station.

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**So do you like it so far? Questions, comments, or concerns? I'm also aware that this is a short chapter, but I had a sudden idea that required this to be short in order to leave it as a cliffhanger. :)**


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